Fair lead for drag-line excavators



Feb. 13, 1923. 1,445,468.

S. R. W. M. BAGER.

FAIR LEAD F0 R DRAG LINE EXCAVATORS. FILED FEB. 7." 1921.

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Patented Fellaa 13, 1923 "entree stares Parent SVANTE R. W. M. BAGER, OF SOUTH MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNQR T0 JBUCYRUS COMPANY, 0F SOUTH MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

FAIR LEAD FOR DRAG-LINE EXCAVATORS.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, SvAN'rn R. W. M. BAGER, a citizen of the United States, and resident of South Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in 1* air Leads for Drag-Line Excavators; and i do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof. 7

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in drag-line excavators and has particular application to the means for guiding the drag-line onto the winding" drum thereof.

Inasmuch as in excavators of this general character, it is impossible for the excavator bucket to be at all times in such a position with respect to the drag-line winding drum as to permit of a straight pull at right angles to the axis of such drum, it is essential that means he provided for correcting the angular displacement of the drag-line before it is wound on the latter. It is therefore the primary object of this invention to provide a simply constructed fairlead which will guide a drag-line cable both vertically and horizontally, or at a slight inclination to the horizontal. I

It is likewise an object of the invention to provide a fairlead in which all of the various guiding sheaves are mounted in the same frame socthat they will have a proportionatemovement upon the swinging of said frame.

1 A still further object of the invention is.

to provide a simply constructed unitary fairlead which may be readily pivotally .mounted on an excavator frame, and equally readily removed therefrom, when the same is to be converted from a dipper bucket excavator to a drag-line excavator and vice versa.

With these and other objects in view the invention] resides in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter more particularly described and claimed, and shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 represents a plan view of my improved fairlead;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view thereof. and

Figure 3 is a horizontalsection taken substantially on the plane of the line 33 of Figure 2.

in the preferred embodiment of the invention as disclosed in said drawing both frame includes a pair of substantially vertically disposed horizontally spaced side plates 2 which are connected together at their top and bottom edges as at 3 anc 4 respectively, and said connected portions merge into vertically spaced arms having pivot ears 5 formed on their ends. As shown most clearly in Figure 2 the ears 5- are adapted to straddle the attaching portion of an excavator frame base also consisting of a pair of vertically spaced pivot ears .6. In connecting the frame '1, with the ears, 6, the ears 5 have their aligned openings aligned with the corresponding openings in the latter, and a pivot shaft 7 is extended therethrough and keyed or otherwise secured in said ears 5. Thus the frame 1 may readily swing horizontally.

The sheaves A and A are journaled between the side plates 2, they having their axis vertically spaced, and the axis of the lower sheave A, while horizontally parallel with the axis of the upper sheave A,'is disposed slightly closer to the plane of the axis of the pivot shaft 7 than the latter (see Figure 2). The fairlead cable which is to be guided by these sheaves A and A" is obviouslydisposed between theside plates 2 and between the peripheries of the former.

The slde plates 2 are provided intermediate their ends with outwardly extending, approximately horizontal, ribs 8 which are extended inwardly and merge into a .lower inclined sheave-supporting plate 9 which-is disposed over the upper ear 5. Formed substantially parallel with this plate 9 is an upper inclined sheave-supporting plate 10, ,7 the same being also connected with the side plates 2-as at 11. All of these parts are preferably cast integrally so that a relatively strong and light frame is provided. The sheaves B and B have their axes horizontally spaced and disposed one on each side of the axis of the pivot shaft 7 andthey are at a slight incline to the vertical so that the sheaves B and B will correctly deflect the drag-line cable onto the winding drum (not shown) which is normally in a plane above that of the fairlead. By positioning the sheaves B and B between-the plates 9 and 1.0, they are readily journaled by extending pivot pins 12 therethrough and securing the same in the lower plate 9.

It is to be noted that the axes of the sheaves B and B are approximately in the same plane as that which passes through the pivot shaft 7, and thus the relative change of position of said sheaves'with respect to the axis of said pivot shaft, when the frame 1 is swung, will be. slight. On the other hand the sheaves A and A being journaled at points spaced from the pivot shaft 7 will have a relatively greater movement upon the swinging of said frame 1. Thus since the fairlead is pivoted at a point directly in front of the winding drum, the drag-line cable will be properly directed onto said drum by the deflecting sheaves B and B regardless of the location of the excavator bucket and the amount of displacement of the cab-1e with respect to a straight line pull.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be obvious that I have invented a very simply constructed fairlead which will correctly direct a drag-line cable, and which because of the fact that all of its parts are mounted in one cast or similar frame, may be quickly and easily assembled with the part of a machine with which it is to be used.

I claim:

1. A guide structure including a pivoted frame, a pair of co-operating sheaves journally carried by the frame and having their axes disp'osed substantially parallel to each other and at right angles to the pivot axis of the frame, said sheaves being spaced a relatively considerable distance from said pivot axis, a second pair of co-operating sheaves journally mounted in the frame and having their axes disposed substantially parallel to each other and slightly oblique with respect to said pivot axis, the axes of said second pair of sheaves being relatively adja-- cent the pivot axis, whereby upon movement -for mounted to swing about an axis extend ing between said sheaves and obliquely disposed relative to said common plane of rotation, and another sheave carried by said frame for rotation in a plane which includes said axis, the periphery of said last named sheave being tangential to said common plane of rotation at a point spaced from said axis.

3. A guide structure including a pivoted frame, a pair of cooperating sheaves thereon whose axes of rotation lie in a common lane angularly disposed relative to the pivotal axis of said frame, and a second pair of sheaves so disposed on said frame that a plane extending between and tangent to said last named sheaves extends through the point of intersection of said pivotal axis with said first named plane. I

4. A guide structure including a pivoted frame, a pair of cooperating sheaves thereon having a common plane of rotation inclined relative to the pivotal axis of said frame, and an additional pair of cooperating sheaves tangentially disposed with respect to said common plane, the pivotal axis of said frame intersecting said lane at a point between saidfirst named s eaves. I

5. A guide structure including a pivoted frame, a pair of cooperating sheaves thereon having a common plane of rotation and Whose axes of rotation lie in a common plane, and an additional pair of cooperating sheaves tangentially disposed with respect to said first plane, the pivotal axis of said the county ofShelby and State of Tennessee.

QSVANTE R; w. M. BAGER. 

